Fall 2007
Course Description
In
2003, the Supreme Court rules that Texas and other states can no longer
criminalize the sexual practices of same-sex couples; in California,
Massachusetts, New York, and other states, gay and lesbian couples are
challenging the ban on same-sex marriage, arguing that limiting marriage to
opposite-sex couples is a kind of sex discrimination; in New York City, transgender women are
denied access to services for homeless people because of their gender identity;
in Texas, a court rules that the seven-year marriage of a post-operative
transsexual women is invalid.
What
role does and should the state play in regulating the relation between sex,
gender identity, and gender expression? What is presumed to be at stake in the
debates over same-sex marriage, sodomy laws, and the equal rights claims of
sexual minorities? How have sexuality
and constructions of sexuality been used to wield power against people of
color? How have the bodies of people of
color been policed differently than the bodies of white people? What kind of new social movement has emerged
as a response to the intense politicization of sex, sexuality, and sexual
orientation? Is this social movement different
from or similar to other social movements for justice in this country in this
century? What are the theories and the
practices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender politics in the
Material
for this class includes both primary and secondary resources, covering diverse
aspects of the state's regulation of gender, sexual orientation, and sexuality
and includes
Course Goals and Learning
Objectives:
(will be expanded)
·
Be able to
define central concepts in the study of politics and sexuality, including: sex,
gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, queer, transgender, the state.
·
Understand how
sexuality has become politicized at different historical moments. Demonstrate
your understanding of the politicization of sexuality through historical
examples.
·
Understand how
the law has operated to define, categorize, and regulate sex, gender and
sexuality. Demonstrate your grasp of
these legal constructions with specific reference to historical examples.
·
Understand the
role of different types of law – state and federal, legislative, litigation – in
regulating gender and sexuality.
·
Understand
different theories or assumptions about the origins of gender and sexuality;
recognize when these assumptions – that homosexuality, heterosexuality,
bisexuality is innate, or socially constructed, or chosen, for example – are
invoked in rights based arguments; develop a working theory about how these
different arguments function in political arguments.
·
Know the
development of the LGBT rights movement in the
·
Through the
process of writing and revising, learn the mechanisms of producing writing that
is analytical, thoughtful, provocative, and adequately sourced.
Office hours and
contact information
Office: 3401 James
Hall
Office hours: Tuesdays, 2:00 – 3:00
p.m.
Tuesdays,
4:45-6:00 p.m.
Thursdays, 2:00 –
3:00 p.m.
Or by appointment
Contact information:
My
office phone is 718-951-5000 x1750. You
can call me there doing office hours, but don’t leave messages there, since the
system erases them very quickly. If you
can’t reach me in my office, the best way to contact me is by email, profcurrah@gmail.com
Your final
grade will be determined by the following:
·
Attendance/participation/presentation/quizzes: 20%
·
Midterm: 15%
·
Eight page essay: 25%.
·
Three-page typed report on a gender/sexuality studies lecture that
you attend outside of class. (For ideas
on lectures, go to www.clags.org and choose ”Calendar.”
15%
·
Final exam: 25%
Course requirements, in addition to the assignments and
exams:
·
Class attendance is required and active participation is
encouraged. You are expected to attend all classes, barring illness or
emergencies. No one will be penalized
for missing a class because of a religious holiday. Attendance will be
taken at the beginning of class.
·
You must complete the assigned reading before each class. I may distribute questions to accompany the
next class’s readings to help guide you through the readings.
·
You should visit me in during office hours at least once during
the semester to discuss your writing and/or other questions you have about the
class.
Staging the essay assignment:
You
have an eight-page (double-spaced) paper due for this class on Tuesday,
December 11th. You have two either-or options:
1) You may simply turn in your first and final draft of
the paper on December 11th. I
will hand out a list of suggested topics by the end of September. You may
choose a topic from this list. If you choose another topic, it must be approved
by me. I will not accept an essay
written for another class for your paper for this class.
2) You may work with me throughout the semester to shape
your paper through the writing process.
If you choose to work with me on your paper, you will have the
opportunity to revise it for a better grade, more than once, if need be. If you
follow this route, you are expected to meet the deadlines listed below. This
staging has been designed to distribute the work of researching, writing, and
revising throughout the semester. This process will also provide you with an
opportunity to develop your writing skills. Direct all correspondence to me at profcurrah@gmail.com. (Note, this is a new address.)
If you are working with me throughout the semester, these are the
important deadlines.
Tuesday, September 25th:
Research Question Due. What interests you? What would you like to write
about this semester that ties in with the general theme of politics and
sexuality? Email me the question you’d
like to address in your paper. I’ll
respond to your question, making sure it’s manageable and ties in with the
theme of the class.
Tuesday October 9th: Revision
of question (based on my comments)
due by email.
Tuesday, October 23rd: Research and reading plan / report due by
email. Send me a paragraph or two describing: what you’ve read so far, how it
fits into your research question, your initial ideas or thoughts on the issue,
what you’ve begun to figure out.
Tuesday, November 6th: First 2-5 pages of your essay due by email.
Tuesday, November 13th: I will respond to all drafts by this time.
Tuesday, November 27th: Full draft
of paper due by email.
Tuesday, December 11th: Last day to submit a draft (first or second
revision)
for
comments Final, absolutely polished, paper due in class.
December 23rd: Final paper
due: in my office (slip it under the door at 3401 James, by email, or through
the Blackboard digital dropbox.)
Other notes about your grade:
·
Your
final grade will be based on a scale, not a curve.
·
You
will have the opportunity to revise your essay after you hand in the first
draft when the first draft is due.
Academic integrity
My
individual policy, which fits within College policy: All substantiated
violations of academic integrity, including plagiarism, will result in a grade
of F on the assignment in question. In addition, I will also submit a Faculty
Action Report form designating academic and possibly a disciplinary penalty
(suspension, expulsion). Please read the
CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity online at http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies/pdf/CUNY%20PolicyAcademicIntegrity.pdf.
The
Important college deadlines
·
Tuesday,
September 4: Last day to add a course;
·
Monday,
September 10: Last day to file Pass/Fail application;
·
Monday,
September 17: Last day to drop a course without a grade;
·
Monday,
October 15: Last day to file for Fall 2007 Graduation;
·
Tuesday,
November 13: Last day to resolve Spring 2007 Incomplete grades
·
Tuesday,
November 13: Last day to resolve Spring 2007
Please
note that changes of Spring 2007 Incomplete and Absent
grades will only be accepted if the missing work was made up prior to the
deadline. Exceptions to this policy will require the approval of CAASS
and must be supported by clear documentation of the reasons for the
request. It is your prerogative to establish an earlier
deadline in order to give you time to grade the missing work.
·
Tuesday,
November 13: Last day to apply for withdrawal from a course with a W
(non-penalty) grade.
WEEKLY
Notes:
·
A much more
complete list of readings will be distributed in class and posted on Blackboard
on Thursday, after I have reviewed the results of the class survey.
·
Material in
Essay assignment:
Suggested
essay topics will be distributed by the third week of September. For general suggestions for writing a paper
for this class, see my writing guide at http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/polisci/pcurrah/writing.htm
Weekly readings
Tuesday, August, 28th:
Introduction to the course
Class survey
Defining basic terms -- sex, sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, and politics
First
Assignment:
Email
me at pcurrah@brooklyn.cuny.edu
so that I have your correct email address.
Put
Political Science 78.5 in the subject line.
Let
me know if you’ve managed to access blackboard.|
Be sure to include your NAME in the email, I can’t
tell who you are by your user name.
Thursday, August 30th: Sex and Gender
Phyllis
Burke, selection from Gender Shock (
1996),
pp. 3-32.
Suzanne
Kessler, “The Medical Construction of Gender,” from Lessons
from the Intersexed (New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1998),
pp.
12-32.
Question on Kessler and Burke readings.
Tuesday, September 4th: Intersex Activism and Rights
Gay
Lesbian Straight Education Network, “Talking the Talk: A Glossary of LGBT
Terminology” (2003)
Cheryl
Chase, “Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism,” in GLQ: A Journal of Gay and Lesbian Studies 4 (2):189-211.
Intersex
Society of
“The
Rights of Intersexed Children and Infants: Decision
of the
OPTIONAL:
Morgan Holmes, “Deciding Fate or Protecting a Developing Autonomy,” from Transgender Rights, eds.
OPTIONAL:
Suzanne Kessler and Wendy McKenna, “Transgendering:
Blurring the Boundaries of Gender” (2006)
In-class
video, “Redefining Sex”
Optional:
Check out the Intersex Society of North America’s web
pages at www.isna.org
Thursday, September 6th: Queer Histories in the
OVERVIEW:
Annamarie
Jagose, “The Homophile Movement” and “Gay Liberation”
in Queer Theory: An
Introduction (New York: New York University Press, 1996), pp. 22-45, plus
notes.
TWO
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS ILLUSTRATING THE HOMOPHILE MOVEMENT AND GAY LIBERATION:
Daughers of Bilitis,
“Statement of Purpose,” 1955.
Questions on the DOB
and GLF documents
HISTORICAL
DOCUMENTS POST GAY LIBERATION – ON THE QUEER NATION
Anonymous,
“Queers Read This/I Hate Straights,” 1991 (distributed in class)
Arnie Kantrowitz, “Letter to the Queer Generation,” 1992
Tuesday, September 11th: Queer Histories in the
ARTICLE:
Gayle
Rubin, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality
Questions to Accompany Rubin
HISTORICAL
DOCUMENTS:
“Employment
of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in the
Martin
Duberman, “The Anita Bryant Brigade” (1977)
Patrick
Buchanan, “The Cultural War for the Soul of America” (1992)
http://www.buchanan.org/pa-92-0914.html
Thursday, September 13th: No classes,
College Closed
Tuesday, September 18th: No class, Friday conversion
day
Thursday, September 20th: Lesbian
History
Annamarie Jagose, Lesbian Feminism
Radicalesbians, The Woman-Identified
Woman (1971)
Joan Nestle,
Selections from A Restricted Country (1987)
Audre Lorde, I am your sister : Black Women Organizing Acrcoss Sexualities (1980)
Tuesday, September 25th: Lesbian Politics and Gay Rights
Those
who are staging their essay assignment: Essay topic
question due in class
Adrienne Rich, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian
Existence (1980)
Marilyn Frye, Lesbian Feminism
and the Gay Rights Movement
(1981)
Maxine Wolfe, AIDS and Politics : Transformation
of Our Movement (1989)
Thursday, September 27th: Nature and Culture
Zygmunt Bauman, Nature and Culture, from Thinking Sociologically
(1991)
Tuesday, October 2nd : Introducing
Transgender Issues
Jamison Green, “Introduction to Transgender Issues”
(2000)
“Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty” in Joanne Meyerowitz’s How Sex Changed: A
History of Transsexuality in the
OPTIONAL: Joanne Meyerowitz,
“Introduction,” How Sex Changed: A
History of Transsexuality in the
Thursday, October 4th: Introducing
Transgender Issues, Continued
Revision of question (based on my comments) due by
email.
Midterm exam review questions distributed
in class
Dallas Denny, “Transgender Communities
in the US in the Late Twentieth
Century“
(2006)
International Bill of Gender Rights
In-class
video: Toilet Training
Tuesday, October 9th: Gender/Transgender
Eve Sedgwick, “How to Bring Your Kids Up Gay”
Thursday, October 11th: The Politics
of Transgender
To Be Distributed in Class: news articles on gender
non-conforming students
OPTIONAL : Ruthann Robson, ‘’Reinscribing Normality ? The
Law and Politics of Transgender
Marriage’’ (2006)
OPTIONAL:
Tuesday, October 16th: Transgender
and Feminism
Sally Hines,
‘’‘I am a Feminist But’…Transgender Men and Women and Feminism’’ (2005)
OPTIONAL: Dean Spade, “Compliance is Gendered”
Part II midterm review : Debate
between Congressman Frank and Lambda Legal about ENDA
Thursday, October 18th: Midterm
Exam (in class)
Tuesday, October 23rd: Black and Gay
Those
who are staging their essay assignment: Research and reading plan / report due
by email.
Cole Johnnetta Betsch and Beverly Guy-Sheftall. "Black, Lesbian, and Gay: Speaking the
Unspeakable" In Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in
African American Communities.
Barbara
Smith, “Blacks and Gays: Healing the Great Divide?” (1993)
Henry Louis Gates, “Blacklash?” (1993)
Thursday, October 25th: Intersections of Race, Gender and Sexuality I
Paulette
M. Caldwell, “A Hair Piece: Perspectives on the Intersection of Race and
Gender.” Duke Law Journal, Vol. 1991, No. 2. (Apr., 1991), pp. 365-396.
OPTIONAL: Hazel V. Carby, “Policing Black Women’s Bodies in an Urban Context,”
Critical Inquiry Vol. 18, no. 4
(Summer 1992).
Tuesday, October 30th: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexuality II
Dwight A. McBride, “Why I
Hate Abercrombie & Fitch.”
Tricia Rose, “‘Two Inches
or a Yard’: Silencing Black Women’s Sexual Expression.” In Ella Shohat, ed., Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in
a Transnational Age.
Thursday, November 1st: Sexuality and
the State : Regulating Non-Normative Family Forms I
Martha Fineman, Gwendolyn
Mink, and Anna Marie
Smith, “No promotion of
marriage in TANF! (Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families” (2003)
Sean Cahill and Bryan Kim-Bulter,
“Policy Priorities for the LGBT community: Black Pride Survey 2006.”
OPTIONAL:
Say it loud: I’m black and I’m proud (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
2002). Read the whole report (98 pages, in PDF) http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/SayItLoudBlackAndProud.pdf
OPTIONAL:
OPTIONAL
(but do skim it: The Moynihan Report, officially known as “The Negro Family: The
Case For National Action Office of Policy Planning and
Research.” United States Department of Labor. March
1965. Online here: http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/webid-meynihan.htm. See especially Chapter 4, which includes the
following statements:
In
essence, the Negro community has been forced into a matriarchal structure
which, because it is to out of line with the rest of the American society,
seriously retards the progress of the group as a whole, and imposes a crushing
burden on the Negro male and, in consequence, on a great many Negro women as
well.
There
is, presumably, no special reason why a society in which males are dominant in
family relationships is to be preferred to a matriarchal arrangement. However,
it is clearly a disadvantage for a minority group to be operating on one
principle, while the great majority of the population, and the one with the
most advantages to begin with, is operating on another. This is the present
situation of the Negro. Ours is a society which presumes male leadership in
private and public affairs. The arrangements of society facilitate such
leadership and reward it. A subculture, such as that of the Negro American, in
which this is not the pattern, is placed at a distinct disadvantage.
Tuesday, November 6th: Regulating
Non-Normative Family Forms
II
Those who are staging
their essay assignment: First 2-5 pages of your essay due by email.
Cathy
J. Cohen, “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare
OPTIONAL : Alan
Berube, “How Gay Stays White “
(2003)
Thursday, November 8th: CLASS CANCELLED
Tuesday, November 13th: Same-Sex Marriage
Tom Stoddard
and Paula Ettelbrick debate
gay marriage
George Chauncey, “How Marriage Changed” from Why Marriage? (Basic, 2004)
Thursday, November 15th: Same
Sex Marriage, cont’d
George Chauncey, “Why Marriage Became a Goal, “ from Why Marriage ?
Tuesday, November 20th: Same-Sex Marriage, conclusion
George Chauncey, “The Present as History, “ from Why Marriage ?
Kenyon Farrow, “Is Gay Marriage Anti-Black?” (http://www.nathanielturner.com/isgaymarriageantiblack.htm)
BEYOND SAME-SEX
MARRIAGE: A
NEW STRATEGIC VISION FOR ALL OUR
FAMILIES & RELATIONSHIPS July 26, 2006 http://www.beyondmarriage.org/full_statement.html
Tuesday, November 27th: Masculinity
and Sexuality in High School :
Reproducing the Norms of Gender and Sexuality I
C. J. Pascoe, “Masking Masculinity: Adolescence,
Identity, and High School,” “Becoming Mr. Cougar,” and “Dude, You’re a Fag,”
from C.J. Pascoe, Dude, You’re a Fag (
"School
Officals Black Out Photo of Gay Students
Kiss," New York Times, June
24, 2007.
In class video : “Sex and Drugs,“ High School Training Films
OPTIONAL : Judith Levine, selection from Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting
Children from Sex (Minnesota, 2002)
OPTIONAL : Janice M.
Irvine, “One Generation Post-STonewall :
Political Contests Over School Reform,“
Thursday, November 29th: Wolfe Institute talk (mandatory)
Janet Johnson, « Can Intervention Help Women? Lessons From
Thursday,
November 29, 2007
3:30
to 5:30 p.m.
Jefferson-Williams,
Tuesday, December 4th: Adolescent Male Homophobia :
Reproducing Gender/Sexuality II
C. J. Pascoe, “Dude, You’re a Fag,” from C.J.
Pascoe, Dude, You’re a Fag (
Thursday, December 6th: Sex and Gender in Children’s Books :
Reproducing the Norms of Gender and Sexuality III
Those
who are staging their essay assignment: Full draft of paper due by email.
Lisa Jean Moore, “My Sperm in Shining Armor:
Children’s Books,” from Lisa Jean Moore, Sperm
Counts: Overcome by Man’s Most Precious Fluid (
OPTIONAL: Lesléa Newman, Heather has two Mommies
OPTIONAL Michael Willhote, Daddy’s Roomate
Tuesday, December 11th: Disability
and Sexuality
Robert McRuer, “Compulsory Able-Bodiedness and Queer/Disabled
Existence,” Pp. 89-99 in Disability Studies: Enabling the Humanities, eds Sharon L. Snyder, Brenda Jo Brueggemann,
and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson.
In-class video : One Night Sit
OPTIONALL Erving Goffman, Selection from Stigma
OPTIONAL : Eli Clare, « Freaks and Queers »,
from Exile
& Pride : Disability , Queerness and LIberation (South
End Press, 1999)
If
you want comments on your paper, this is
the last day to submit a draft.